The Boy

Year: 2016

Runtime: 97 min

Language: English

Director: William Brent Bell

Budget: $10M

MysteryThrillerHorror

A young American nanny, Greta, accepts a position caring for a young boy in a secluded English village. She soon discovers the family’s unsettling secret: they maintain the illusion that their deceased son still lives through a remarkably realistic doll. Disregarding the family's strict rules, Greta investigates further, inadvertently unleashing a disturbing and inexplicable force that threatens to unravel her sanity and expose a terrifying truth.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen The Boy yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – The Boy (2016)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Boy (2016). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 20:50

Main Characters – The Boy (2016)

Meet the key characters of The Boy (2016), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 20:50

Major Themes – The Boy (2016)

Explore the central themes of The Boy (2016), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

Last Updated: October 22, 2024 at 20:50

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Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about psychological gaslighting like The Boy

A protagonist is trapped and isolated, their sanity questioned by a menacing environment.If you liked the unnerving psychological manipulation in The Boy, this thread features movies where characters are similarly trapped and gaslit, fighting to maintain their sanity against a sinister force. These stories focus on slow-building dread, domestic terror, and the horrifying question of whether the threat is real or imagined.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a character, often an outsider, entering a confined and controlled environment. They encounter inexplicable events and are systematically disbelieved or manipulated by those around them. The story unfolds as an internal and external battle for survival, where distinguishing truth from deception becomes the central conflict.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their shared foundation of psychological dread, built on isolation, gaslighting, and a claustrophobic setting. They prioritize a tense, uneasy mood over graphic violence, creating a deeply unsettling experience that lingers long after the film ends.

Movies about grief-haunted houses like The Boy

A family's unresolved trauma manifests as a supernatural presence within their home.For viewers who appreciated how The Boy used a supernatural premise to explore parental grief, this thread collects similar films where a family's tragedy literally haunts their home. These movies blend emotional depth with supernatural terror, often featuring ambiguous threats rooted in profound loss.

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Narrative Summary

The plot revolves around a family attempting to cope with a devastating loss, often by creating a dangerous illusion or denying reality. An outsider enters this dysfunctional environment and uncovers the secret, inadvertently awakening the emotional and supernatural forces festering within the household. The conflict is as much about confronting painful truths as it is about surviving a ghost.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their central theme of grief as a catalyst for horror. They share a heavy emotional weight, a tense and eerie atmosphere, and a setting that acts as a prison for memories. The supernatural threat is intrinsically linked to the characters' psychological states.

Unlock the Full Story of The Boy

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The Boy Summary

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The Boy Timeline

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The Boy Spoiler-Free Summary

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More About The Boy

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Similar Movies to The Boy

Discover movies like The Boy that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.